Degree Completion

[optism]

Hi,
I have graduated during september 2010 from US university. I have started working full time from october 2010. But all of the documents which i received from my university has the graduation date
as december 2010, which i think is correct, as i come under fall graduate.

But i should furnish to my employer that i have finished all the degree requirements by september 2010, i.e before joining the company.

I would like to know to whom should i request (graduate school/ registrar's office/ international student center.).

My graduate school informs that they provide only as a december 2010 graduate.

Does anyone faced this kind of situation. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

[DSO]

re: Degree completion

If you were recommended for OPT by your international advisor, then you would have had to completed the course requirements to graduate. The actual graduation ceremony and degree issuance can happen later, but your OPT has to start within 60 days of completion of program requirements. I have included a regulatory citation below.


So I would suggest contacting the international office at your school for assistance in getting documentation about when you finished the degree requirements. And perhaps you could get a letter from the Registrar about the date your completed your coursework, or perhaps your transcript would show the dates of your coursework, you could check that also. Be persistent, your school should assist you with this.



(ii) Optional practical training --

214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)

(A) General . Consistent with the application and approval process in paragraph (f)(11) of this section, a student may apply to USCIS for authorization for temporary employment for optional practical training directly related to the student's major area of study. The student may not begin optional practical training until the date indicated on his or her employment authorization document, Form I-766. A student may be granted authorization to engage in temporary employment for optional practical training:

.....

214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)(3)


(3) After completion of the course of study, or, for a student in a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree program, after completion of all course requirements for the degree (excluding thesis or equivalent). Continued enrollment, for the school's administrative purposes, after all requirements for the degree have been met does not preclude eligibility for optional practical training. A student must complete all practical training within a 14-month period following the completion of study, except that a 17-month extension pursuant to paragraph (f)(10)(ii)(C) of this section does not need to be completed within such 14-month period.


Best of luck to you